TB Prevention

This report provides recommendations from the Advisory Council for the Elimination of TB (ACET) concerning TB elimination in low-incidence areas. In 1999, ACET called for a renewed commitment to its strategic plan, originally published in 1989 with a year 2000 objective of 3.5 cases per 100,000 population. Also in 2000, the Institute of Medicine proposed a comprehensive action plan for TB elimination in the United States. In 2000, 22 states reported incidence rates of =3.5/100,000, which was the objective set by ACET in its 1989 strategic plan.

This pamphlet provides information for persons diagnosed with TB about talking with a healthcare provider during a contact investigation. It also provides guidance about what an individual should do if named as a contact.

This handbook is a reference tool for use by national tuberculosis (TB) program managers, clinicians and nurses, public health decision-makers and technical and implementing partners committed to the prevention, care, diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant TB.

This report is a TB program evaluation, which is designed to complement the general CDC Introduction to Program Evaluation for Public Health Programs manual. It contains background information, goals and objectives of a TB program, and reasons for evaluating TB prevention and control programs and explains why the CDC evaluation framework should be used.

This report provides World Health Organization (WHO) member states with guidance on preventing TB transmission in healthcare facilities, congregate settings, and households. It focuses on what to do and how to prioritize TB infection control at national levels and includes recommendations for national managerial activities. The report updates or presents new or increased emphasis on the particular administrative and environmental controls to be implemented and on personal protective equipment. It includes a special focus on building design and use of space.

This information sheet discusses preventing occupational transmission of TB by means of an infection control program. It explains the three levels of TB infection control in health care settings: (1) administrative controls to minimize areas where exposure may occur; (2) environmental controls to reduce the concentration of airborne TB bacteria; and (3) respiratory protective equipment to be used in situations that pose a high risk of exposure.

This information sheet discusses the need for individuals with latent TB infection (LTBI) to get treatment and prevent the progression of LTBI to TB disease. It emphasizes the importance of the health care provider communicating the value of LTBI treatment and of identifying barriers to adherence. The information sheet also lists strategies for maximizing adherence including collaborating with community agencies and partnering with local health departmetns and community based organizations that can provide needed resources.

This information sheet discusses the bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine for TB disease, which is used in many countries to prevent childhood tuberculous meningitis and miliary disease. It explains why the BCG is not generally recommended for use in the United States; suggests that the BCG should be considered under specific circumstances; and provides recommendations for when the BCG should be used with children and health care workers and contraindications when it should not be used, such as for immunosuppressed persons and pregnant women.